Sensitivity and specificity of the autism diagnostic inventory-telephone screening in Spanish.

Vrancic et al. (2002) tested a 20-minute Spanish phone screen for autism. They trimmed the full ADI-R interview into a short set of yes-no questions.

Parents answered the ADI-TSS by phone. Later, the same families completed the full ADI-R gold-standard interview. The team compared the two sets of answers.

The phone screener matched the full ADI-R almost every time. Sensitivity and specificity were both high, and different raters gave the same scores.

The screen worked well even when kids had limited Spanish or lived far from clinics.

Wright et al. (2022) did the same kind of ADI-R tweak for deaf children. Both studies kept the core questions but changed the delivery—phone for Spanish, sign language for deaf kids. Each reached strong accuracy.

Hus et al. (2013) warned that older age and poor language can inflate ADI-R scores. The 2002 phone version side-steps that bias by using fewer, clearer items and skipping parts tied to language level.

Stewart et al. (2018) later validated a Spanish repetitive-behavior scale. Together, these papers build a small toolbox: screen first with the ADI-TSS phone call, then measure repetitive behavior with the Spanish RBS-R if needed.

If you serve Spanish-speaking families, you can now screen for autism without long clinic visits. A 20-minute phone call gives you a valid yes-no flag. Use it for early triage, rural outreach, or research intake. When the screen is positive, follow up with full ADI-R or refer for full evaluation.